The students at UW-Madison have the power to elect the next mayor of Madison, yet student voters typically head to the polls in smaller numbers for local elections than they do in national elections. That is why many of the six candidates have been lobbying for student support on campus and addressing issues that are important to downtown Madison and to students.
The buzz over a proposed city drink special ban downtown has subsided in recent months following area bars' self-imposed ban. But the issue will certainly come up again as city officials and bar owners evaluate the effectiveness of the voluntary ban and its impact on the community.
The majority of the candidates said they do not support a ban on drink specials. They did, however, disagree on the finer points of the overall issue of drinking downtown.
Davy Mayer specifically addressed the university's role in regulating alcohol use downtown. He said the university, and Chancellor John Wiley in particular, should not interfere with city regluations.
\The University has started to take a father-like role, which isn't right,"" he said. ""Chancellor Wiley shouldn't try to be our daddy.""
However, Mayer said he does think the city and the university should work on distracting students from too much drinking, such as keeping the Southeast Recreational Facility open later and sponsoring more alcohol-free events and 18-and-over music venues.
Bert Zipperer said he was against sweeping regulations that do not address the problems of college binge drinking. While he said binge drinking is a problem on campus, he said each bar needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
""If a bar is causing problems, then focus on that bar,"" he said. ""Bars need to be treated in a fair and objective manner.""
While banning drink specials seems to be an important issue to many students, some of the candidates said they felt this was not an important issue to their campaign.
""It isn't something I am focused on,"" Dave Cieslewicz said. ""[However], we do have to be more careful about serving people who are inebriated.""
Mayor Sue Bauman said she has not made up her mind on the issue. She said she is waiting to see how the voluntary ban works before making her decision.
Other candidates said they did not care to make a decision on the issue. Will Sandstrom said he does not have a view on the issue and does not think it is important to the state of the city.
State Street has been one of the greatly debated issues of the campaign, with the redesign plan moving into the construction phase and the completion of the Overture Center, 211 State St., questions about the value of buses on the street, and with more chains taking over once small store fronts.
Bauman and former Mayor Paul Soglin have had the most history with the street. Both said they take credit for the positive changes that have come to State Street.
""When I took office, State Street was held together with tar,"" Bauman said. She added that under her leadership the city developed the redesign plan.
Soglin, who first was mayor from 1973 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1997, said he saw the beginning of the pedestrian street. Under his tenure, the city took traffic off of the street and Soglin said he takes credit for the creation of State Street Mall.
With current questions being raised about whether to keep buses on State Street, only Cieslewicz supported taking them off State Street, while all talked about other possible transportation systems.
""If you are eating at a caf?? [on State Street], you can't hear the person next to you. You get diesel fumes in your pasta,"" Cieslewicz said, who would rather install a streetcar system which he said would be cleaner and quieter.
Sandstrom said he felt the more important issue on State Street is violence. He said the street has become more violent because of immigration and organized crime.
""In the 1950s and '60s, we had a great capital. Now we have these drug dealers coming from Chicago and organized criminals,"" he said. ""Now we've got Mexicans and Chinese taking over the workforce because they are cheap labor.""
The rest of the candidates have focused on the economic growth of the street, such as the Overture Center and how to integrate it into the community.
""In order to balance the budget, [the Overture] will have to bring in business,"" Zipperer said. ""The fear is that they may focus on big-name projects to bring in the money and it will focus less on creativity.""
Soglin also emphasized the need to make the Overture a place where small, local bands can perform as well as larger acts. He said any art scene like Madison's needs a venue for ""small, artsy"" groups and it is critical to make the Overture work for the community.
While debating the issues is good practice, one of the candidates will soon have to make real plans and choices.
As the current mayor, Bauman has the least reorganizing to do once elected. She cited changing committee appointments that will be up this April as well as focusing on downtown panhandling and beginning work on a public swimming pool.
Cieslewicz said he plans to build stronger relationships between the city, the county and large city institutions.
""We need to recognize Madison is no longer a fortress and the health of the city depends on the health of the region,"" he said.
With the least amount of city experience, Mayer said he would first learn about the ins and outs of city government before tackling problems with mass transit and affordable housing.
Sandstrom said he would focus on many issues once elected, including the city budget, property taxes and lowering property values. He also plans to lower prescription prices and, in an effort to focus on the elderly, save social security.
As the candidate with the most mayoral experience, Soglin said the first thing he would do is develop relationships with other city departments and bring together a cohesive city staff.
""I will bring together the city staff and go over all those commitments that I made during my campaign, like fixing State Street and developing an inclusionary zoning program,"" he said.
Zipperer also emphasized the importance of building an honest and reliable staff, while still staying involved and knowing what is going on in the community. He said he wants to create a city structure where community members have access to the government.
